Overland with Kids

Saturday, the last official stop point outward of our trip, was a day for traditional Henna tattooes. We got fleeced as Anne didn´t agree the price beforehand - make sure you always agree the price before accepting to buy anything in Morocco!!! - but we didn´t mind so much as we realise that most individuals plying their trade in Morocco - Asilah in any case - rely on the summer trade from tourists such as us. What we paid was still better than the first price so we managed a bit of haggling thanks to Andrew putting his foot down - Andrew is good at haggling, Anne useless and duly given lecture following the transaction.

In any case, Jessica has her name in arabic down her leg, AJ has a dragon and Anne has a flowery concoction - so all happy. Just have to wait and see how long it takes before it wears off now before return to real life of work and school again in a few days time.

The children got great delight out of a monkey in the marketplace called Linda. Linda had been rescued from the Rif mountains and seemed very well looked after and very much liked the attention of passers by, especially the opportunity to sit in peoples laps and look down their trousers at their knickers!

Jessica and AJ got great fun out of it all and the owner earned plenty of spare change for the privilege from us (Andrew of course in charge of the dirham).

Saturday saw the start of Ramadam and the place was like it had been hit by a holocuast. Hardly any Moroccans in the streets, beach, shops or markets. Businesses were still open but it was like a ghost town and the restuarants shut early and reefused to sell alcohol except basic beer and wine. We could clearñy see the few fellow tourists in the town today whereas previously they and we were hardly noticeable apart from our tell-tale westernised dress.

Forgot to mention in last update the abundance of cats and also chickens roaming around in amongst the donkeys and horses who look like they have a bit of a hard life here, as well as camels of course. Jessica and AJ observed with great interest the plentiful animal excrement along the footpaths as testament to our experiences. Hashish is also widely available - a main daily business by what we could see and begging was rife, especially amongst the lame and older people as well as children. Despite it all, we very much enjoyed our stay and are sorry we could not explore and discover more of what Morocco has to offer.

Christina´s House is gorgeous -  newly renovated and very clean. A home from home and very relaxing. If you are ever in Asilah, look her up - very good rates (we paid 4000 DHM which included a very good breakfast). Probably best to do a google search to find out more plus details of how to contact etc. We are sure we could have found cheaper but it was nice to have cleanliness, washing machine and internet at disposal when required.

Getting out of Tangiers on Sunday was a bit of a joke. Apparently the Police system was broken so we had to queue for Police Control to get passports stamped before being allowed to simply buy tickets for the Algeciras ferry which we nearly missed. When we went back to get our tickets we had 15 minutes to spare before departure time. Operators card machine was broke so we had to make a mad dash around the place to sort. Gates were then closed when we tried to board and we were told that we couldnt board but managed a reprieve in the end. What really confused us was the cost - only 20 Euros outbound per person yet nearly 200 Euros total return for all of us regardless of what operator and whether fast or slow ferry. We´ll have to work this out at a later date.

Yesterday, following return to Algeciras we drove straight to Castell de Ferro to collect vehicle today and and also return our hire vehicle in Granada. All went according to plan and problem with Land Rover was not as severe as we thought - no longer a gasket issue but something simpler but we are unable to translate at this time. Upshot is that all sounds good and vehicle appears to be running well.

We are now just outside Alicante in a place called Don Juan on our homeward route. Alicante and it´s surrounds looks very interesting but we won´t have much time to investigate tomorrow as we travel some more along the coastline toward France.

Forgot to mention Anne is proud holder of Spanish speeding ticket - she had to have one 70 Euros - Andrew is now doing the driving.

Again limited access to email etc. but have we have quickly checked comments and email and thanks to all - all noted and will respond very shortly.

Adios Amigos!

A, A, J and A

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Diary (Blog)